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The Scapegracers

(Scapegracers #1)

Hannah Abigail Clarke

3.88 · Rating details · 1,048 ratings · 417 reviews

An outcast teenage lesbian witch finds her coven hidden amongst the popular girls in her school, and performs some seriously badass magic in the process.

Skulking near the bottom of West High’s social pyramid, Sideways Pike lurks under the bleachers doing magic tricks for Coke bottles. As a witch, lesbian, and lifelong outsider, she’s had a hard time making friends. But wh ...more

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Hardcover, 400 pages

Published September 15th 2020 by Erewhon

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· 1,048 ratings · 417 reviews

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Aug 05, 2019 Kate (Feathered Turtle Press) marked it as to-read

Shelves: lgbt-2020, 2020, lgbt

god is there any better combination of words than "lesbian witch"? ...more

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Sep 13, 2020 Lex Kent rated it really liked it

Shelves: 2020-favorites, ya-or-na, f-f-paranormal, magic, zlocked-debut-2020, lgbtq

4.25 Stars. This book was weird in some of the best ways possible and I had a blast reading it. This is YA paranormal but to get technical it’s almost more magical realism with witches and at times almost borders on horror. I could see Clarke writing a horror book in the future and easily excelling at it. This looks to be Clarke's debut which is impressive if true. This is the first book in the series and I just hope the wait is not too long for the next.

Over the years I have found my love for Y 4.25 Stars. This book was weird in some of the best ways possible and I had a blast reading it. This is YA paranormal but to get technical it’s almost more magical realism with witches and at times almost borders on horror. I could see Clarke writing a horror book in the future and easily excelling at it. This looks to be Clarke's debut which is impressive if true. This is the first book in the series and I just hope the wait is not too long for the next.

Over the years I have found my love for YA steadily growing. I’ve come to realize there are about three different types of YA. There is YA that feels pretty young so that it is more for a young audience. Then there is the opposite where the YA book feels like it is written for grownups instead of teenagers. And lastly, where this book fits in, YA that makes you reminisce for your younger years. It almost feels good since it brings back feelings of a simpler time yet still filled with plenty of life defining angst. When I was a teenager, in the 90’s, teen movies had this huge boom. There were a million comedy and rom-com teen movies like Clueless, Can’t Hardly Wait, and 10 Things I Hate About You. But at the same time, there was also a rash of teen movies that were surprisingly inappropriate for us teenagers because they were filled with violence, sex or both. And yet these mostly R rated movies were marketed right to us teens and we ate them up like candy. Movies like Scream, Final Destination, I Know What You Did Last Summer, The Faculty, Wild Things, Jawbreaker, and one in particular that I watched way too much, The Craft. I loved that movie as a teen and this book reminded me of it. One of the main differences is that this book was better. This book was what I wish The Craft would have been. My 14 year-old self would have just loved this book to pieces and my 38 year-old self was pretty happy with it too.

Now I do have to mention that the writing style is very different. It’s not purple prose but it’s very descriptive. At first I was like what is this? After the first chapter or two it just clicked and became easy. It actually became so comfortable that I almost started to crave it, which is not normal because I don’t usually like overly descriptive styles... but I was hooked. So please don’t get discouraged in the beginning, give it a chance because it will eventually click and get much better.

I’m a character driven reader and that is what this book really is. If you are more of a plot driven reader, you probably will have some issues with this read. Everything in my paranormal loving heart wanted to give this book 5 stars but I could not because of the plot issues. It is just not strong enough in certain places and wanders at times. But, the characterization of this book was wonderful. It is first person so you become very connected with the main character Sideways, which is her name because she’s “not straight”. Not only do you become connected with her, but because of the overly descriptive writing style, you feel, see, hear, and even smell what she does. This psychic distance is so wonderfully close and is exactly why I love a well written first person story. While this is in first, this is a book with an ensemble cast. This story is about three other teenage girls too. What is really nice is that you feel like you connect and really know all of them, not just Sideways. That is hard to do in first but Clarke completely pulled it off, probably because this book is so character driven and overly descriptive. Yes, there are some plot issues here, but this is the first book in a series. For me this book was all about meeting, connecting and caring about the characters, and hopefully the next book(s) to come will be more plot driven.

The sexual diversity in this book was nice with lesbian, bisexual and het main characters. I don’t really think I can put a romance tag on this book, but there are wlw crushes and dates that go on. When it comes to the dates everything is very early stages and there is nothing more than a kiss or two. I’m rooting for a potential couple and I’m hoping another character finds some teenage love but I’ll have to see what book 2 holds.

I do have to mention a complaint that may seem a little petty. I hate the title! I get what it means from reading the book, but every time I look at it I read SPACE Gracers and I think oh this must be one of my new sci-fi books. Maybe I’m the only one in the world, but I cannot see this title without the word ‘space’ and if I just glanced at the cover, I would never know that this book held all this witchy goodness inside.

I can already tell by some of the early reviews that this book won’t be for everyone. As I already mentioned, if you are not a character driven reader you might struggle a bit. I have high hopes for the possibilities of book 2 including some of the plot bumps being ironed out. The magic system also needs more explanation, but what is there I really like so far. The writing style is also unusual to say the least, but I loved it. This book does end on a bit of a cliffhanger. To me it’s a palatable cliffy and not a pull your hair out cliffy. I want book 2 to come more just because I enjoyed this one so much. This book was not perfect, but it was everything I was hoping for and I’m a happy camper right now.

An ARC was given to me for a honest review. ...more

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Apr 21, 2020 NAT.orious reads ☾ rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: netgalley

4 angsty STARS ★★★★✩

This book is for you if… you dig dark teenage witch vibes with a significant amount of gay and bi angst. It’s very high school-esque but satisfyingly so.

⤐ Overall.
Listen, gals, anybody here who's ready to form a coven that pursues simple-minded, evil witted douchebags on the hunt for teenage girls? DM me if you have the resources. And by resources, I mean the gut and magic equipment. I'll bring the snacks and the humour.

This was kinda cool tbh? I went into this hati ...more

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Aug 29, 2020 theresa rated it it was amazing

Shelves: wlw-mc, 20-releases, arcs-review-copies, lgbtq, 20-favourites

After Sideways Pike, an outcast lesbian witch, is invited to perform a spell at the popular girls' Halloween party, she finds herself swept into their friendship. The girls throw killer Halloween parties, curse boys and try to find Sideways a girlfriend, all while exploring their powers, learning about the dangers of being a witch and forming their own coven.

This book is an ode to teenage girls, to weirdos, to friendship. It’s feral and raw and everything I wanted it to be and more. This book ha ...more

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Apr 17, 2020 destiny ♡⚔♡ [howling libraries] marked it as to-read

Shelves: owned-ebooks, review-copies, owned-tbr

I said I wasn't requesting any more May releases, but there are queer witches and this is one of my favorite covers of my life, so... here we are ...more

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Feb 26, 2020 charlotte, (½ of readsrainbow) rated it it was amazing

Shelves: f-lgbt, lgbtq-authors, found-family, review-copies, 5-stars, lgbt, physical-copy-needed, ya-or-mg-lit, east-asian-characters, black-or-african-characters

I guess my point is that teenage girls aren’t supposed to be powerful, you know? Everybody hates teenage girls. They hate our bodies and hate us if we want to change them. They hate the things we’re supposed to like but hate it when we like other things even more, because that means we’re ruining their things. We’re somehow this great corrupting influence, even though we’ve barely got legal agency of our own. But the three of us – the four of us, counting you – we’re powerful.

On my blog.

I guess my point is that teenage girls aren’t supposed to be powerful, you know? Everybody hates teenage girls. They hate our bodies and hate us if we want to change them. They hate the things we’re supposed to like but hate it when we like other things even more, because that means we’re ruining their things. We’re somehow this great corrupting influence, even though we’ve barely got legal agency of our own. But the three of us – the four of us, counting you – we’re powerful.

On my blog.

Rep: lesbian mc, wlw li, Black sapphic mc, Chinese American bi mc, mlm side characters

Galley provided by publisher

There’s nothing like attempting to find the words to review a book you loved because you don’t actually know how to explain just how much you did love it. So if this review ends up in rambling territory, please look away.

The Scapegracers is about Sideways Pike, a lesbian witch, who finds herself the new member of a friendship group with a popular clique of girls after she does magic with them at a Halloween party. Then things start to get weird, involving a curse on a boy, a cute girl, and a creepy family of witch hunters.

The number one best thing about this book hands down was how it centered on a group of girls. And a group of girls who would do anything for one another, at that. Which, I think we can all agree, is the best of tropes. Much of the focus on the book is on their friendship which meant, even when I felt the plot maybe drifted, I still loved it because of them. I just loved that these characters are supposedly “mean girls” but the book completely subverts that by giving them this intense and fierce love for one another which they extend so easily to the main character as well. In fact, there is not one instance of a girl hating another girl in the whole book (at least, not for the usual spurious reasons). It’s so refreshing.

That’s basically the selling point of this book for me, but there’s also witchcraft (and it’s interesting how it’s a world where this is normalised, I liked that take on it), and getting revenge on skeevy boys (always excellent), and my favourite character of all, Mr. Scratch (you’ll see why). It’s one of those books that I just have nothing bad to say about. I loved it and I already want to reread it. Oh, and of course, Daisy is the token straight main character. I went in expecting just a lesbian main character, I came out with two more sapphic characters, and some gay parents. Just how I like it.

Finally, it’s a grower of a book, in a good way. The first chapter may seem a little weird, but you get into it, and you become absorbed by the characters, so much so that you don’t even notice the book going by.

Which, really, just makes it the best kind of book. ...more

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Aug 04, 2020 menna rated it really liked it

Shelves: 2020-releases, sapphic, arcs

anyone wants to create a coven together to hex douchebags who hurt girls?

this book honestly had me at teenage lesbian witch and i loved it so much!!! the friendship!!! the magic!!! the atmosphere!!! everything is just so good!!

let me start of by talking about the friendship because it's one of my favorite things about this book!! is there something anything better than a friendship beginning with a hexing of douchebag who hurt one of them??? I THINK NOT. they also would do anything for each othe ...more

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Oct 03, 2020 Boston rated it really liked it

4.5 stars

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Sep 17, 2020 Stacey-Lea rated it it was amazing

Shelves: arc, 2020-favourites

4.5 stars

This is the book I’ve wanted to read since the first time I watched The Craft when I was like five, since seeing Willow go dark and obsessing over Charmed and Sabrina every night. Witches are top tier, my absolute favourite, they are the bad asses of the mythical world and this is truly the perfect fledgling witch story.

We come into Scapegracers at the very beginning of a coven’s creation. Our protagonist, Sideways didn’t expect to find her coven among the untouchable popular girls, Da ...more

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Apr 07, 2020 ♡ jules ♡ rated it did not like it

Shelves: fantasy, lgbtq, insert-eye-roll, lets-go-lesbians, 1-star, lets-talk-diversity, read-in-2020, unfinished-series, contemporary, paranormal

Thank you Netgalley and Erewhon Books for the ARC.

let's begin with the few positive things I liked about this book.
I asked for this title because it sounded exactly what I was looking for: a teen lesbian witch with her coven and possibly a sapphic love story. I thought this was going to be similar to These Witches Don't Burn and I was going to have a great time.

What I got of that? The representation and the girls friendship/coven. That was the best part of the book.

Now.
I apologize in advance if ...more

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Apr 02, 2020 Jessica Woodbury rated it really liked it

Shelves: arc-provided-by-publisher, lgbtq, sci-fi-fantasy

What a witchy gay mischievous delight. I'm not even mad that I unwittingly read the first book in a series because I will absolutely be back for more no matter how long I have to wait.

Sideways Pike is your classic outcast, you know, that kid who everyone says is a Satan worshipper. Except it's more true in Sideways's case. She's a witch and a loner. But the loner part all changes the night three cool girls--ruthless Daisy, angelic Yates, and direct Jing--invite her to their Halloween party to d What a witchy gay mischievous delight. I'm not even mad that I unwittingly read the first book in a series because I will absolutely be back for more no matter how long I have to wait.

Sideways Pike is your classic outcast, you know, that kid who everyone says is a Satan worshipper. Except it's more true in Sideways's case. She's a witch and a loner. But the loner part all changes the night three cool girls--ruthless Daisy, angelic Yates, and direct Jing--invite her to their Halloween party to do some magic and impress the partygoers. But when the girls join Sideways' circle, the power they have together is more than anyone anticipated and it starts a sequence of events in motion that cannot be stopped.

It took me a little bit to get the rhythm of Clarke's prose, but once I got it I was absolutely in love with their style. Cool oozes effortlessly from the pages, which is saying something. A lot of the times when a book has super-charismatic characters it fails to make them come alive, or it leaves the not-so-charismatic characters as empty ciphers. None of that happens here. We get a clear picture of all 4 of the main girls, and we also get what they see in each other. Sideways is perhaps too much of the tropey outcast, but as the narrator she gets that privilege. She is a teenager grappling with a lot of self-hatred and insecurity, so of course she is going to amplify all the imperfect parts of herself for us.

One thing I really loved about this book is how I never knew what was going to happen. It is unpredictable and weird and doesn't rely too much on familiar beats to move you along. A lot of this is from Clarke's excellent worldbuilding, they teach us how magic works bit by bit, through Sideways' experience but also through the group learning and figuring things out. There is one very big exception to this, but it's a smart one, a train wreck you know is coming from the very beginning and just have to wait with your jaw clenched for the final payoff. It balances out all the weird tangents and helps keep some forward momentum.

I have no idea what's going to happen in the future with this series, but I really appreciated how even though there is sapphic longing amongst the group of girls, we do not get overly sidelined in any unrequired affections or love triangles. We also don't get too much straight-girl-homoeroticism either. All of them are at least a little bit queer--it's not always clear just how queer they are, which is absolutely accurate for teenage girls--and it may get more complicated later as we dive into their identities, but here we got just enough to flesh them out and let Sideways get to know them gradually. Sideways is the exception, the one definite-and-fully-declared lesbian of the bunch, who also happens to have two very cinnamon roll-y dads who run a spooky/awesome antiques store.

There's a great balance here of yay-friendship with super-dark-s**t, which is exactly what I needed to read in these dark times. Dark like an ink monster + witchy static electricity + friends who will have your back forever + gay gay gay = just perfect thank you where can I find 100 more ...more

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Jan 23, 2021 birdie marked it as interested

Shelves: lgbtqiap, sapphic, fantasy

“outcast teenage lesbian witch”

never have four words sound so perfect.

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Sep 20, 2020 Lauren rated it it was ok

Shelves: arcs, ya-series

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for this advanced copy in exchange for an honest review.

I don’t think this is quite the book for me.

Following getting paid to do magic at a party for the popular girls Sideways finds herself swept up by these three girls and together they’re banding together with the strength of female friendship and forming a coven.

I was really into this concept a MC who is a lesbian witch?? Amazing.

But I wasn’t super drawn into the plot and didn’t really get invest ...more

flag 10 likes · Like · see review

Sep 06, 2020 Shan( Shans_Shelves) 💜 rated it it was amazing

Shelves: dark-reads, diverse-reads, lgbtqiapd-plus-young-adult, fantasy, lgbtqia-plus-faves, sapphic-rep, lgbtqiap-plus-author, qf, young-adult, poc-rep

Final Thoughts

”People don’t punish boys who hurt girls, because people don’t care about girls.”

You hear that?? It’s the sound of me grabbing my microphone and screaming about how EVERYONE NEEDS TO READ THIS BOOK.The Scapegracers is an electrifying YA debut that features one lesbian witch, two explosive parties, and three badass popular girls. Put all that together with Witchcraft, morally grey girls, talking spell-books, and multiple queer/poc characters and you can see why this is a must read ...more

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Sep 20, 2020 Sasha Zatz rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Shelves: sapphic-books, ownoices, lgbtq

loved it loved it v witchy v gay v feral

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Sep 09, 2020 Althea added it

Shelves: sapphic, lgbt, arcs, ya, fantasy, lesbian, i-m-in-love-with-this-cover, protags-of-colour, paranormal, ebooks

After the author's silence on their relationship with, and silence on the information being released about Emily A. Duncan, I have removed my rating and review for this book and will not be promoting it at least until real efforts have been made to make amends.
...more

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Feb 23, 2021 Rachel rated it it was ok

”Give us something obscene! Give us something to sink our teeth into! We demand magic!”

DNF at 50%.

This is a chaotic gay witch story that somewhat miraculously had multiple lead characters of color and I could have really enjoyed it...in theory. Who can’t get behind a protagonist with a name like Sideways? And I stan a beautiful, iridescent cover 😍

HOWEVER, there were definitely issues. Substantial issues. One, the plot. There mostly isn’t one, and there are super long scenes that don’t seem to a ”Give us something obscene! Give us something to sink our teeth into! We demand magic!”

DNF at 50%.

This is a chaotic gay witch story that somewhat miraculously had multiple lead characters of color and I could have really enjoyed it...in theory. Who can’t get behind a protagonist with a name like Sideways? And I stan a beautiful, iridescent cover 😍

HOWEVER, there were definitely issues. Substantial issues. One, the plot. There mostly isn’t one, and there are super long scenes that don’t seem to add any value. The first hundred pages (actually more) involve the coven just hanging out after the party (which was actually an important event but dizzying and not well executed with barely any context), braiding hair and going to the movies, spitting all sorts of crazy dialogue. And this might have been enjoyable, but there was no effort made to really set the scene for the town, flesh out the characters, or give the story any depth. I wanted more background.
The writing style didn’t feel well-crafted (lol) and there was soooooo much swearing. It just felt scattered and disorganized and juvenile, like a teen was relating this long story to a friend, so didn’t bother to edit. Or maybe like a long diary entry? That’s the best way I can describe it. Just because the protagonist is a teenager doesn’t mean the book should feel like a teenager (without exceptional ability) wrote it.
And another thing that was sort of irritating was that multiple characters were gay/bi, but it wasn’t part of the story really. It felt like the book wanted credit for the reps without actually incorporating anything, besides the protagonist finding multiple people attractive and mentioning people being gay. It felt pointless, like a missed opportunity..but since the characters were flat and I never cared about them, I guess this fits.

One of the characters complains of picking at people for entertainment being insubstantial, like having bubblegum for dinner, but that’s kind of the issue with this book so it wasn’t a very self-aware statement. Eek!
Anyway, if you like the new Sabrina show you will probably be into this? ...more

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Oct 24, 2020 Alaina rated it really liked it

Shelves: 2020-arcs, romance, 2020-ng, fantasy, lgbtqa, october-2020, fiction, young-adult, contemporary, paranormal

I have received this ARC from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

The Scrapegracers was such a fun book to dive into! I had no idea I was going to meet such amazing characters and be completely invested in every little thing that they did. Speaking of, you will meet Sideways. She is a witch, an outcast, and a lesbian. One day she is basically adopted by this trio of scary but super cool girls. Together they are just completely bad ass and I absolutely adored each and everyone of them.

Now ...more

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Oct 28, 2020 Lex rated it it was amazing

Shelves: read-in-2020, favorites

This was an absolute fever dream of a book. I LOVED the characters, I enjoyed the tricky, slippery grasp on reality that it felt like our MC (faux-leather-jacket-wearing lesbian witch Sideways Pike) had, and I was EXTREMELY into the writing style (Visceral! Gritty! Tactile! Funny! If you like Gideon the Ninth, boy do I have a book for you!). My only tiny quibble is that I don't like it when books are set-ups for sequels and don't feel self-contained, but I had so much fun I'll definitely be back ...more

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May 25, 2020 andrea caro rated it really liked it

Shelves: witches, girls-girls-girls, unfinished-series, lgbtqia, halloween, young-adult, read-in-2020, arc, favorites-2020

4.5 stars.

I have found it - my new favorite witchy read.

Truthfully, this book wasn't on my radar until a couple of weeks before it's original release date (it's since been pushed back to September, possibly due to COVID). For whatever reason, I was reluctant to pick up the arc that I was gifted, though the synopsis made one thing fundamentally clear: queer witches.

Sideways, a lesbian witch outcast in her high school, gets paid $40 bucks to make some magic happen at a Halloween party. She collect 4.5 stars.

I have found it - my new favorite witchy read.

Truthfully, this book wasn't on my radar until a couple of weeks before it's original release date (it's since been pushed back to September, possibly due to COVID). For whatever reason, I was reluctant to pick up the arc that I was gifted, though the synopsis made one thing fundamentally clear: queer witches.

Sideways, a lesbian witch outcast in her high school, gets paid $40 bucks to make some magic happen at a Halloween party. She collects the girls that asked her to show up - Daisy, Jing, and Yates - as well as a mysterious girl named Madeline. The next day, Sideways wakes up to dead deer in an empty swimming pool and chalk drawings all over the basement where the party was held. Clearly, they got more magic than they bargained for.

Those who follow my reviews know that it doesn't take too much for me to like a witch book. First thing, though - I don't care for a witch story in which powers don't require ritual (think Charmed, with Prue's telekinetic powers) and the spellwork I was craving was definitely included.

I also need to talk about the writing in this book. The way the author weaves a sentence is delicious; it's the kind of writing that for me I would read several times over because I loved the way those words came together. The writing was a 5/5 for me, though, if I was being nitpicky - Halloween is my favorite time of year and I wish I could have gotten to read more of that chilly, frosty, spooky ambiance written into the story.

The only place the story fell flat for me was in plot alone. Given the fact that the book is clearly set up for a follow-up, I'm not going to judge it too harshly; I'm hoping we go into the whos, whys, hows, and whats in later books.

But some of the things that happened in this book didn't make much sense to me. For example: early on in the book, Sideways was abducted (and escaped) witch finders - people using witchcraft against witches to remove their powers. Once Sideways escaped, she came home bloodied and dirty and not only was there no real follow-up here (like, the police were never called, it was almost like that particular threat was forgotten about; also, if my parents saw me come home covered in blood, they would NOT let me leave the house to go do whatever I wanted, particularly with asking no questions).

So yeah, 4.5. I have the book preordered and can't wait for the follow-up! ...more

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May 20, 2020 Juan Manuel Sarmiento rated it it was ok · review of another edition

Shelves: 1-5-stars

I received a copy of this book in return for an honest review. Thanks to NetGalley for the opportunity.

The Scapegracers follows Sideways Pike, a teenage lesbian girl that makes spells for money. With an atmosphere and a writing style that reminds of a mix of Mean Girls and some generic brand of Sabrina the Teenage Witch, we're slowly getting into a plot with a boy cursed, a girl and some witch hunters.

All of this may sound good but the execution is confusing and poor. We get bombarded by the L w ...more

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Feb 14, 2020 Rach rated it liked it

I didn’t love this book but I didn’t dislike it.

The book started off fast pace but then the story to me went really slow and was a bit repetitive. Maybe as it Is the first book in the series in will pick up more in the second book.

I did like some of the characters though. We have Sideways (that is her nickname) whose really name is Eloise who is a outcast and has been practising magic for years. The three others of the group that Sideways joins are Jing, Yates and Daisy. At the start of the boo ...more

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Oct 07, 2020 jocelyn rated it really liked it

Shelves: 3-fantasy, 5-sapphic, 5-queer

4 / 5
this was really great!! one of my favorite aspects was the writing style. it was expressive and beautiful as well as aggressive and visceral in a way i really appreciated. the witchery bits were cool, although i kind of wish they were expanded upon more, and something about the plot fell short for me, but i can’t really explain it. it’s probably something very subjective.
but, i loved the characters and i kinda had a crush on jing and i don’t even know why fkhfjjd they were very badass and i ...more

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May 30, 2020 Liv the Jellyfish Queen rated it really liked it

Shelves: arc, first-books

This was way more fun than anticipated!
I mean, I really hoped it would be fun, because there's not many things that are better than lesbian witches imo.

I had my problems with it at first. I didn't particularly like the writing style, it felt fabricated and... stilted, I guess? It took me almost a third to get used to it. But once I did, and got really invested in Sideways and her newly acquired friends, I really liked this!
And since I somehow got even worse at writing reviews that aren't bullet This was way more fun than anticipated!
I mean, I really hoped it would be fun, because there's not many things that are better than lesbian witches imo.

I had my problems with it at first. I didn't particularly like the writing style, it felt fabricated and... stilted, I guess? It took me almost a third to get used to it. But once I did, and got really invested in Sideways and her newly acquired friends, I really liked this!
And since I somehow got even worse at writing reviews that aren't bulletpoint lists, I'm just going to list all the things I liked and didn't like. Maybe I'll revamp this review once the publication date (September 15) draws near.

- The characters felt real! Which is somehow very uncommon for books with teen main characters, apparently. But these teens curse, they are kind of dicks, but are still human and lovable characters!
- It's very diverse without coming off as forced (like, how some authors force in half-formed characters just for browney points). Sideways' a lesbian. She has two dads. There's casually characters with they/them pronouns, and casual characters with sexualities all over the place and that was just cool
- I didn't particularly like the part where The Clowns (you'll know who I'm talking about once you read the book) turn up. It felt very out of tune with the rest of the story, and just felt like an underdeveloped plot Point
- that being said, I loved that Clarke put enough thought into this to have Sideways emerge from that situation not a-okay, but shaken (re: cars)
- I'm a sucker for the Found Family trope, even more so if said found family are all super supportive girls that will murder anyone to protect each other. This is my jam!
- Some things were a bit too convenient, but I'll forgive that. Writing is hard. Coming up with solutions that work but that aren't convenient is even harder.

All in all, I really enjoyed The Scapegracers! More so than I thought I would! If you like the idea of The Chilling Adventure of Sabrina, but not the execution, and want it gay: Here you have the perfect candidate!

@Erewhon and Netgalley: Thank you guys for the ARC! ...more

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Jul 01, 2020 Kathaleen Luangamath rated it really liked it

Non-Spoiler Section 📕

First off I want to give a big thanks to Kensington Books, Hannah Abigail Clarke and NetGalley for sending me this ARC in exchange for a non-bias review.

Now with that being said let me start off by saying that I really enjoyed this book. There were Witches, POC characters, LGBTQ Characters and so much more. This book really showed how diverse the world actually is. This book gives me American Horror Story Season 3 vibes in the Best way possible. It has such a Dark ...more

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May 12, 2020 Vee rated it liked it · review of another edition

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📗 There's a really great book hidden in these pages, but it took me a while to find it. Scapegracers is a fantastically dark, queer, witchy book set in small town America, but the actual plot was all over the place, as if it couldn't decide between the parties, the events in the mansion, the brothers Chantry or Sideway's potential love interest, so it decided to just go with all of them.

📕 The girls themselves as a group are amazing, but it took me a while to g ...more

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Apr 08, 2020 nina rated it did not like it · review of another edition

Shelves: buddyreads, queer-rep, romance, e-book, ya, fantasy, 1-star-reads

This book was... something.
I expected so much about this book because of the “lesbain witch finds coven” stuff. I was immediately sold after reading that. But I didn’t enjoy this book at all. The writing was nothing for me and i was confused all the time. I felt like the story went nowhere, if there was even a story at all. I hoped the confusion would go away after perhaps 50 pages, but it didn’t. I thought it was just me but luckily my friends Giulia and Michelle had the same problem.
The only ...more

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Apr 12, 2020 Abi (The Knights Who Say Book) rated it it was amazing

Shelves: best-fantasy, fantasy, urban-fantasy, wlw, 2020-favorites, arcs, lgbtqa-minor-characters, diverse-reads, given-for-review, young-adult

This was so good! Like, does it have flaws? Absolutely not because I love it. Was there repetitive word choice and a loose plot? Yeah, but I couldn't care yes. The characters are vivid and messy and FUN, the magic is painful and mysterious and angry, and it's filled to the brim with queer girls.

I feel like I want to describe this book by riffing on how Maggie Stiefvater describes her Raven Cycle books—Outcast girls! Scared girls! Angry Girls! Powerful girls! Collect them all! Hannah Abigail Clar ...more

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Mar 22, 2020 Ariel (ariel_reads) rated it liked it

Shelves: fiction, netgalley-arcs, young-adult

I really love the premise of this book. Witches, high-school drama, friendships, queer and poc rep? Sign me up! If this type of book sounds appealing to you-- it's worth the read. However, the major issue I had with it was pacing. I wanted to enjoy this book so much, but often found myself frustrated or confused because there were whole sections where nothing was happening or developing. I also think there might have been more depth to the book if the side characters had been explored a little m ...more

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Oct 24, 2020 jut rated it liked it

Shelves: 2020-s-books

The Craft: Legacy (2020)

This feels likes this movie (or what this movie is going to be like) or something, it wasn't bad but a lot happened at the same time and left me a little confused, i expected more sapphic and witch elements.
...more

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About Hannah Abigail Clarke

Hannah Abigail Clarke

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Scapegracers (2 books)

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Quotes from The Scapegracers

“I used to underline passages in my English books, because certain lines crawled off the page, because those lines were magic and they meant something on a cosmic scale.” — 6 likes

“I guess my point is that teenage girls aren't supposed to be powerful, you know? Everybody hates teenage girls. They hate our bodies and hate us if we want to change them. They hate the things we're supposed to like but hate it when we like other things even more because that means we're ruining their things. Were somehow this great corrupting influence, even though we've barely got legal agency of our own. But the three of us the four of us, counting you were powerful.” — 6 likes

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